"Living History" with Denise Chong and Charlotte Gray

By Barbara Shea

The sold-out event featuring authors Denise Chong and Charlotte Gray and
hosted by CBC’s Lucy van Oldenbarneveld was the second entirely local event
within the fall 2013 Ottawa International Writers Festival. Both
authors have international reputations and have published a number of works in
the past.

Denise Chong spoke
about her latest book Lives of the Family: Stories of Fate and
Circumstance. It focuses on a time during the
mid-twentieth century when families emigrated from China to Canada and
specifically to the Ottawa Valley area. She talked of the political
backdrop to families leaving China during the 1940’s and later. The families
were rebels, in a way, for they chose to settle away from the Chinese
communities in Toronto, Vancouver and New York. She was interested as to
why the families moved to the Ottawa Valley and she wanted to bring into “sharp
relief” the experiences of the Chinese immigrant. Through her research, which
includes conversations with family members, Denise searches to “reveal the
precise moment when a life changes”.

Denise read some excerpts from her book and described several other
portions. She told of the shock of settling in a new country and of the
isolation the families faced. One young woman and her mother, in planning
a move to Canada, had 12 new dresses made and bought 12 new pairs of high
heels. When they arrived in Ottawa they were driven to Carp where they
ended up pumping gas for a living. The dresses and shoes were of little
use.

Denise had attended another Writers Festival Event earlier in the week and
she heard author Michael
Winter speak about writing about people’s lives. Michael’s words
resonated with Denise. He said ‘life is messy, it is chaos and doesn’t
have structure”. Denise tries to take people’s messy lives and give them
structure. Charlotte agreed we all have unstructured lives.

Charlotte Gray’s latest book
The Massey Murder: A Maid, Her Master
and the Trial that Shocked a Countryis a departure from her previous work
as the focus of this book is a true crime. A domestic servant working in
the house of the famous Toronto Massey family murdered her boss.
Eighteen-year-old Carrie shot Bert Massey in cold blood as he walked up
the steps to his home in January 1915. Charlotte was interested in not
only the crime itself but also how the circumstances within Canada at the time
may have impacted the trial. It was early in WWI, women were demanding the
vote and immigrants were arriving from places other than the British Isles.
These factors had a role in the trial and the verdict.

The discussion that took place after the book readings was very
interesting, frank and open. I found hearing about each author’s
experience in research to be fascinating. Charlotte’s leads for a story,
at times, come from a chance meeting when she is out walking her dog in Ottawa.
Denise spoke of hearing about family history from people in their 80’s
and 90’s who have never told anyone of such events before. They realize
that if they don’t tell now, the event will go to the grave with them.

Both women are very interested in exploring the human side of their
subjects. They feel some of what those they interview have felt.
And if it is a painful, emotional story they “weep” with those they are
interviewing but at the same time a part of them is thinking “this is really
good stuff”.

Denise Chung and Charlotte Gray are our local “really good stuff”.
My hope is that you will read their books and discover for yourself.